Cat-lovers object to proposed Lacon ordinance

That rumbling sound heard in the Lacon City Council chambers Monday night was not purring.

It was the sound of cat-lovers objecting to a proposed ordinance that would basically amount to a catch-and-kill plan for cats not carrying proper identification marking them as pets.

"Such animals shall be humanely disposed of without delay," reads one draft of the ordinance.

Besides disliking the harshness of that approach, people who came to the meeting maintained it would not even be an effective way of controlling the permanently homeless feral cats that appear to be the main target.

Gary L. Smith

That rumbling sound heard in the Lacon City Council chambers Monday night was not purring.

It was the sound of cat-lovers objecting to a proposed ordinance that would basically amount to a catch-and-kill plan for cats not carrying proper identification marking them as pets.

"Such animals shall be humanely disposed of without delay," reads one draft of the ordinance.

Besides disliking the harshness of that approach, people who came to the meeting maintained it would not even be an effective way of controlling the permanently homeless feral cats that appear to be the main target.

"What's going to happen is that you're not going to be catching feral cats," said Sherri Coghill of Lacon, a longtime animal welfare activist who runs The ARK no-kill shelter outside Lacon.

"I would say 75 percent of them are going to be somebody's pets," Coghill said.

The catfight in City Hall started after a few residents either complained about cats in certain areas being a nuisance or expressed concern about them starving, said Mayor Bob Weber. He said the city is trying to be pro-active partly to prevent anti-cat vigilante activity.

"Frankly, if we don't do something, people will take it into their own hands," Weber said.

The sentiments of complaining residents were echoed by some council members. Les Hattan said his wife didn't like cats getting into her flower beds, and Jack Rebholz said, "I don't want other people's cats on my property."

An early draft of the ordinance distinguished between cats that are "properly tagged with an identification tag" and those without any "evidence of ownership." But neither the city nor Marshall County registers cats, and officials acknowledged they don't have any way of determining proper identification.

"I think what we've got to figure out is how to deem a cat feral and not somebody's pet," said Alderman Mike Anderle.

Marshall County's animal control consists simply of a Henry man being paid $50 a head to pick up dogs running loose and take them to a primitive cinderblock building that serves as a pound. There is no cat shelter except the not-for-profit facility run by Coghill, which receives no public funds.

Roxanne Poplette of Chillicothe, who volunteers at The ARK, gave council members packets of information from the Humane Society of the United States and a national organization called Alley Cat Allies. It distinguished feral cats from lost or abandoned strays as animals that have had no human contact and probably could never be socialized for adoption.

The national organizations suggest that the best way to control feral cats is a spay/neuter-and-release program that reduces their numbers and is cheaper than killing them, Poplette said. Coghill said veterinarians who work with her shelter would be willing to cooperate.

"There are resources," Coghill said.

When Hattan bristled at the idea of releasing cats after they've been caught, Lacon resident Mary Sheets said she and others are afraid that the council already is committed to the killing plan.

"I feel like you've already closed your mind," Sheets said.

Not so, Weber insisted. He said he and other officials will be talking with other municipalities concerned about the issue before taking any action.